Young people pitch in to remove invasive reeds along Kern River
Good environmental cause or not, no one was really expecting teenagers to show up on time on a weekend morning to labor outdoors in the heat for free.
But sure enough, at 9 a.m. Saturday, a group of them gathered around next to the Kern River to hear instructions and hazard warnings for their voluntary assignment: Begin removing a large clump of fast-growing, invasive reeds that was sure to spread and eventually choke the river if left uncontrolled.
Minutes later, two dozen mostly high school students were clipping and carrying away armfuls of Arundo donax, a bamboo-like plant native to eastern Asia that had grown more than 20 feet high since a fire burned the area a few years ago.
"Watch your head!" 14-year-old Alice Priddy with Centennial High's Interact Club called out as she swung a reed three times her height over a reporter's head. Perspiration covered her face as she carried armfuls of plant material back and forth from the riverside to a growing pile of arundo.
"I do like making sure nature is healthy," Priddy said after being asked to take a break from her first outdoor volunteer experience to give an interview. It was hard work, she admitted, but "there is fun in it."
"It's kind of fun being able to work with other people while doing a shared, good thing," she said.
The event was put on by the White Wolf Wellness Foundation, which in addition to offering a variety of online and in-person educational programs runs Okihi, a 14-acre, multi-use property leased from the county of Kern on the north side of the river not far from the California Living Museum.
The arundo was only growing in one spot along the bank at Okihi, but it had gained ground quickly and was getting 4 to 6 inches taller by the day, said White Wolf Chief Operations Officer Katherine Winters.
"It doesn't have any natural predators," she said, adding that it out-competes native plants. "So, it just takes over."
Her view was that something needed to be done now while the problem is still manageable, at least in that part of the river.
"It'll be a lot more costly to deal with in a few years," Winters said. She also explained that cutting and removing the reeds must be followed by removal of the plant's roots, called rhizomes, using shovels, pitchforks and digging bars.
She noted that, because the arundo is stabilizing the bank of the river, the plan is to remove it in phases, replanting with willows.
Arundo was first planted in California in the early 19th century to provide roofing materials and control erosion in Southern California. Even now it can be found for sale in nurseries. In some places it is harvested as biomass to fuel power plants.
But the plant has taken over some creeks, rivers and lakes across the West, including the Santa Clara River along Highway 126. Consuming three times as much water as the native plants it displaces, arundo has become a problem that must be managed, said Vice President Bill Cooper of the Kern River Parkway Foundation. He noted that, besides ruining habitat, it's a fire hazard.
Years ago, members of his group brought the problem to the attention of city government, which responded by hiring a contractor that sprayed the reeds elsewhere in the city, knocking them back but only temporarily, Cooper said. His view was that more should be done to address the situation.
"Volunteers can only do so much," he said.
Don't tell that to 22-year-old Bakersfield activist Kevin Moreno, who was working hard Saturday, cutting down arundo and carrying large bunches of it to the big pile Saturday. He learned about the effort through Bring Back the Kern, a local advocacy organization he follows on social media.
"I came out because, first, I have a lot of love for the river," he said.
Rhian Tabinas, a 15-year-old sophomore with Centennial's Interact Club, didn't hold back Saturday as she used her foot to snap thick arundo reeds she then carried to the pile.
"I think helping the community's really important, and I want to integrate myself," she said.
A 17-year-old senior at Foothill Hill, Isaiah Orozco, was working nearby but stopped to answer questions and wipe the sweat from his brow. He said he had taken part in a river cleanup near Cal State Bakersfield, and so this was his second time volunteering for a good cause.
"I like how we're cleaning up the river," Orozco said.
Chris Molina, an organizer with Bring Back the Kern, said the event helped bring attention to the river while raising morale within the community. His hope was that local leaders take notice and help the cause.
"I've grown up here all my life," Molina said. Volunteering to help fight back arundo, he added, "is a way to give back."
